TIAA opens Miami office to cover Southeast, Latin America

TIAA Global Asset Management’s TH Real Estate has opened a regional office in Miami to oversee the Southeastern United States and Latin America, and has brought in Manuel Martín from Madrid to head the operation.

In his new position, Martin will be overseeing 11 states as well as Latin America. “We’re opening the regional office to better serve our investors, give a local perspective, and manage the assets locally,” he told The Real Deal.

TIAA currently has $10.5 billion in assets under management in the region, totaling 36 million square feet. South Florida assets include office properties 701 Brickell, 801 Brickell, the Waterford at Blue Lagoon; multifamily assets such as the Village of Merrick Park and the Manor at Flagler Village in Fort Lauderdale; and various industrial properties. In addition, TIAA owns the shopping mall JK Iguatemi in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Martín said he plans to focus on strengthening the firm’s third-party institutional business, while overseeing acquisitions, dispositions and asset management. For acquisitions, he said he will be particularly looking at the industrial market, as well as the retail sector, with an eye on “micro locations.” Retail purchases could be in the $30 million to $150 million range, he told TRD. The multifamily market, he said, is “too hot right now.”

He said his aim is to expand his current staff of five to about 10 people within six months, based at a 3,000-square-foot office currently being renovated at Courvoisier Centre on Brickell Key.

Martín was formerly head of TIAA’s TH Real Estate’s activities in Spain and Portugal. TH Real Estate, an operating division of TIAA Global Asset Management, is one of the largest real estate managers in the world with $96 billion in assets under management.